Early MLB playoff predictions

MLB playoff-clinching season is here. The Los Angeles Angels snagged a playoff spot Monday and later locked up the AL West. The Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals cemented their respective division titles Tuesday. Meanwhile, it appears the wild-card races are the most competitive, with each league seemingly embroiled in a three-way scrape for two spots. How will it all play out?

Royals in 1st; playoffs next?

Do not adjust your Internet settings. The Kansas City Royals really are in first place on Aug. 11, after beating the Oakland A's for their eighth straight win -- their 16th win in the past 19 games -- while the Detroit Tigers lost their third in a row. The Royals, in first at the latest point in a season since 2003, once again are aiming to end their nearly three-decades-long playoff drought. The Tigers, meanwhile, were eight games ahead of the Royals less than a month ago and saw their onetime ace leave after just one inning Monday. What will happen?

Will the Royals (64-53, 1/2 game up on Tigers in AL Central) make the playoffs?

33%

Yes, as AL Central champions

48%

Yes, in a wild-card spot

19%

No

(Total votes: 165,047)

How worried should Tigers fans be about their team's recent struggles?

Tigers get David Price from Rays

Oh, you thought Jon Lester-for-Yoenis Cespedes was the only major trade of deadline day? Not so fast. The Detroit Tigers have landed David Price from the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a three-team deal that keeps Motown's team firmly in the chase for that elusive next World Series. The Seattle Mariners, meanwhile, get Austin Jackson, while the Rays have picked up Drew Smyly and Nick Franklin. What do you make of it?

You might recall last week when musician Jack White took in a Chicago Cubs game and looked, um, unhappy.

Well, his tour of baseball sadness continued Tuesday in Detroit, where White was invited to throw out the first pitch before the White Sox-Tigers game. Naturally, he seemed as melancholy as ever when he stepped up ...

Leon Halip/Getty Images

And threw ...

Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports

And this is him before he -- wait. What is that? A SMILE?!

Leon Halip/Getty Images

What in the world could White possibly be happy about? Is it because Detroit is White's hometown? Or might it be, perhaps, because he threw the pitch to Santa Claus?

The glee didn't end there, though. Tigers mascot PAWS managed to snag a selfie with St. Nick and White in the tunnel, and: